A fascinating narrative by Grandpa Marigan to a curious child, discovering the sacred traditions of the Kattunayakan tribe and how it honours the bees, the bears, and trees for honey. This is the rallying call of the village elder when he invites his companions to join him in going to the forest to collect honey among other things. Marigan, the wise old Kattunayakan elder from Chembakolli village in the Gudalur Valley of the Nilgiris, has been collecting wild honey from the time he was a child.
A buzzing catalogue of some important bee-types—the rock bee, little bee, Indian hive bee, European bee, and dammer bee. *************************************** So far, we have only touched upon a few of the many things about the life of bees and what an important part they play in saving our planet. Honey is not just something sweet and tasty; but what makes it sweeter is the makers of honey—the bees. There are over 2,000 bee species across the world and not all of them make honey. In India, there are five major bee types that produce honey...
Harvesting wild honey has been the main occupation of the Cholanayakan and Kattunayakan tribes of Wayanad, in Kerala, for centuries. But the recent drought and delayed summer rain have affected the harvesting of wild honey. The number of beehives has come down drastically, by over 50 per cent from 2023. Honeybees make hives every year on the same big trees. The right amount of rain, according to the season, is crucial for honey production. But unseasonal rain is posing a huge threat to it, affecting the tribes that depend on honey collection for their survival...